Victoria has passed the worst of the week’s extreme bushfire conditions but fire authorities have warned residents near Grampians National Park to remain on alert.

A fire burning out of control in the Grampians in the state’s west is no longer directly threatening townships in the area.

Residents will be allowed to return to their homes Saturday afternoon.

Darren Jasper and Mick Dalziel monitor the fire on a property next to the Grampians National Park. Photo: Justin McManus

Four properties have been destroyed in the popular tourist destination, with numerous sheds and fencing burnt and up to 7500 livestock affected.

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Most will need to be euthanised.

Four homes have been lost in Victoria’s Grampians region along with numerous sheds and Fire authorities downgraded the blaze that was threatening the holiday township of Halls Gap to a watch and act about 1.20pm on Saturday.

Grampians Fire

He said he was disappointed that some people had not acted on advice to evacuate.

’’We had an unfortunate tragedy at Roses Gap where a local resident stayed when they were given advice to leave and they lost their life,’’ he said.

’’That will be fully and properly investigated … but it should be a very salient lesson to everybody that when you are told to leave, there is a huge risk to your life and property, your life is worth saving by leaving early and making sure you are safe.’’

The fire has reportedly claimed a number of properties in Dadswells Bridge and Brimpaen, but the full extent of property losses was not yet known.

The CFA has said it is now believed that a woman whose body was found in Rose Gap on Friday did not die as a direct result of the fire.

It is believed the woman suffered from a medical condition that was exacerbated by the extreme heat.

More than 30 fires continue to burn across the state, including in Gippsland.

Concerns that the fires in the state’s far east could merge and create a half-a-million hectare inferno have eased.

Halls Gap business owner Paul Antonio, from the Brambuk Backpackers and Aboriginal cultural centre, said it was a relief the town had been spared by an earlier than expected wind change on Friday afternoon.

‘‘The fire only got to about two kilometres from the town,’’ he said.

‘‘There’s my livelihood and a lot of other staff’s livelihood, so it was a bit of a worry. But we got through it again.’’

The town of Ouyen was also spared from the flames, which came out of nearby Bronzewing Flora and Fauna Reserve.

A sudden wind change about 8pm on Friday caused the Grampians fire to burn erratically for several hours with firefighters battling dangerous winds and conditions that were the worst since Black Saturday.

Incident Controller Andrew Morrow said the strong winds had caused the Grampians fire to spread in a northerly direction towards St Helen’s Plains and closed the Western Highway.

Firefighters were able to control the blaze by 5am on Saturday after earlier warning residents in the area to flee.

Incident Controller Andrew Morrow said the CFA spent Saturday morning assessing the full impact on homes.

"A focus will also be on clearing any tree hazards, however residents need to be aware that this remains a danger after any fire," Mr Morrow said.

"Today we’ll also look where we can return those who have evacuate their homes."

The Department of Environment and Primary Industries estimated about 500 people had attended relief centres at Horsham, Stawell and Ararat since the fire began on Wednesday.

It is suspected to have been started from lightning.

Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said on Friday that the Grampians fire was so intense it had ’’created its own weather’’, triggering lightning and spot fires around Halls Gap.

Mr Lapsley said the Grampians fire could be seen from kilometres away and had ’’a 12-kilometre convection column … that is creating its own weather’’.

By Saturday afternoon, all the state’s major warnings were at a ’watch and act’ level.

Of most concern was the Club Terrace fire in Gippsland, which remains out of control.

There is still a possibility that several small fires in the area could join and create a large bushfire.

The CFA has urged residents to remain on alert.

Two relief centres are open at P-12 College, Tamboon Road, Cann River and Orbost Secondary College.

Meanwhile, arsonists have been blamed for lighting a dozen of the 70 fires that burned across Victoria on Friday.

Victoria Police chief commissioner Ken Lay said it was ’’unbelievable’’ that people were deliberately lighting fires in such dangerous conditions, and said arsonists had targeted areas on the urban/rural fringe.

’’When people are lighting fires on days like today there is a very, very real risk that people may die.’’

18 Jan
Before the 2009 heatwave that primed Victoria for the Black Saturday bushfires, Melbourne had never recorded a day where the temperature averaged above 35 degrees. That event delivered two of them.